Both sides loaded their characters, and the map was loaded as well. Since it was Excellent Era's home game, Liu Hao had the right to choose the map, and without hesitation, he decided on the arena!
As the match began, both sides launched an attack on each other.
Chang Lei, a professional Magic Swordsman, a flying class. Facing the incoming Magic Swordsman, Liu Hao initiated the attack first. The short sword in his hand, Total Darkness, condensed an ice-blue wave, the prelude to the Frost Wave Sword.
"Frost Wave Sword is here. We'll get to see Hao Ye's godlike predictions again!"
"Come on, let's start betting. How many skills do you think Chang Lei can dodge from Hao Ye?"
"I bet he can't dodge any!"
"+1"
"I bet Chang Lei can dodge one. Everyone has a stroke of luck now and then."
"That makes sense. I'll bet two. I think Chang Lei's luck can be better."
…
The live chat was lively, and each streamer's live room also started betting pools. Most viewers thought Chang Lei couldn't dodge any of the skills, so they bet all their points on fewer than five. Only a few viewers bet on more than five.
Seeing this, the streamer commented, "You bet tens of thousands of points on fewer than five. Even if you win, you'll only get a few hundred points each."
…
However, just when everyone thought the Frost Wave Sword would hit solidly, an accident happened...
The Frost Wave Sword grazed the Magic Swordsman's scalp, missing by just a hair!
"Missed? No way? Missing a skill at the start? I have a bad feeling…"
"What the heck, Chang Lei's luck is incredible! Hao Ge even predicted his movement, but it still missed by a bit."
"No worries, it's just one dodge. Hao Ge just made a mistake; it's nothing. Hao Ge won't let us down."
…
At this moment, Chang Lei was also scared. If the Frost Wave Sword had hit him, he would have been caught in a series of magic sword combos. He didn't think Liu Hao's prediction failed; he felt he was just lucky.
"Magic Swordsman, Star Line, Total Darkness moved in advance; this should miss..." Pan Lin started to smile, but the next second, he saw the Star Line pierce through Total Darkness's body.
"Chang Lei actually...predicted Total Darkness's movement?" Li Yibo was surprised. "This isn't Liu Hao's style this season."
Chang Lei was also stunned. He thought his Star Line would miss, so he prepared a follow-up attack skill, but he didn't expect the Star Line actually to hit the prediction king Liu Hao.
"Liu Hao doesn't seem right..." Chang Lei murmured. "Or is this some trick to make me underestimate him? But is it necessary?"
The match continued. After taking a hit from the Star Line, Liu Hao quickly followed up with an Evil Light Slash and a Quick Light Wave Sword, but they all missed.
Everyone sensed something was wrong. Missing one skill could be a mistake, but missing three skills in a row? This wasn't like Liu Hao at all.
At this moment, the director puts Liu Hao's face on the big screen, and everyone sees Liu Hao's still extremely handsome but somewhat pale face.
"What's wrong with Liu Hao? He looks unwell..." Pan Lin speculated.
"If it's because of health reasons, the missed skills can be explained," Li Yibo realised.
The audience also showed sympathy. Even if he was unwell, he still played the match. Hao Ge is a real man. I'm crying…
Chang Lei didn't know what was wrong with Liu Hao, only that Liu Hao's condition was terrible. His skills kept hitting, while Liu Hao's missed, gradually widening the health gap. Victory was in sight!
Chang Lei got excited, not knowing Liu Hao was pretending to be ill. He deliberately missed skills to mislead Conquering Clouds so that they would target him in the team match…
However, Liu Hao couldn't deliberately lose this match. Missing skills could be a tactic, but deliberately losing would be throwing the game...
At the critical moment, Liu Hao finally "recovered," predicting with the Wave Sword and then combining skills to kill the Magic Swordsman. The match ended with Total Darkness having only 5% health left.
The audience called it a clutch moment; Chang Lei thought it was a pity, and Liu Hao showed his extreme health control.
I, Liu Hao, used 95% of my health to defeat a nobody. You understand I wasn't well, right?
[Killing Yue Hong Ao Da triggers system reward: National First-Class Actor's Skill!]
A vast amount of knowledge flooded Liu Hao's mind, and he instantly grasped the essence of acting. His face turned pale, and his body appeared weak, all due to his acting skills, making him look on the verge of collapse.
Leaving the stage, Liu Hao deliberately showed a weak smile, interacting with fans who felt deeply for him. However, the viewers who lost their points could only laugh bitterly. Liu Hao managed to win the match, but they lost all their points.
Liu Hao clutched his stomach and walked back to Excellent Era's bench, looking extremely pale. The others, unaware of his act, thought he had food poisoning, like Ye Qiu.
Shen Jian, He Ming, and Wang Ze quickly rushed to him, concerned. "Boss, how are you? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"Did Ye Qiu go to the hospital?" Liu Hao asked.
"Boss, you're in this condition, and you still care about Ye Qiu?" Shen Jian was almost in tears.
"Hao Ge, Ye Qiu couldn't hold on during your match and went to the hospital for a stomach pump," Zhang Jiaxing said.
A stomach pump? Isn't that overkill? Liu Hao looked at Cui Li, who was standing nearby. Didn't I tell you just to make him have diarrhoea? Why did you make him need a stomach pump?
Cui Li was embarrassed. It was his first time drugging someone, and he miscalculated the dose...
"Boss, shouldn't you go to the hospital too?" Wang Ze suggested. "Health is more important."
Liu Hao twitched his mouth. He was pretending to be sick. Nothing would show up in a hospital, and Cui Li was ruthless. He had to be careful of him in the future.
Su Mucheng also showed rare concern. "The beef noodles you and Ye Qiu ate had problems. The beef wasn't fresh, causing food poisoning. Shouldn't you go to the hospital?"
Su Mucheng initially thought Ye Qiu's diarrhoea preventing him from playing was Liu Hao's doing. But since Liu Hao was also poisoned, he couldn't be that ruthless. She felt guilty and concerned for him.
Liu Hao saw the sincerity in Su Mucheng's eyes and wanted to laugh. This rival showing concern for him was rare.
But Liu Hao kept up his act, weakly saying, "I can't leave. Both Ye Qiu and I are starters for the team match. If I leave, Excellent Era will forfeit. We can lose, but we can't surrender!"
We can lose, but we can't surrender! At that moment, Su Mucheng was moved, seeing the same purity in Liu Hao that she saw in Ye Qiu.
Did Liu Hao cherish matches and e-sports so much? Even in pain, he fought for victory.
Everyone's eyes turned red. Even Qiu Fei rarely showed admiration.
Liu Hao smiled bitterly inside. Am I overacting? I'm sorry, Ye Qiu. I just wanted to help you cleanse your system, not get you hospitalised.
Su Mucheng was touched, gently patting Liu Hao's shoulder. "Don't worry. For your sake, I'll lead Excellent Era to win against Conquering Clouds in the team match!"
"Then, I look forward to Su Mucheng's excellent performance," Liu Hao said.
…
Events took an unexpected turn. In the second individual match, Conquering Clouds sent out Sun Xiang. Shouldn't he be in the arena match?
Sun Xiang wasn't just a brute. He was Conquering Clouds's captain and strategist, naturally studying and targeting Excellent Era's tactics.
Sun Xiang felt that the conquering clouds were much weaker than in the excellent era. With Ye Qiu and Liu Hao defending, the Conquering Clouds couldn't win the arena match, so he aimed to secure points in individual matches.
Thus, Sun Xiang avoided Liu Hao and Ye Qiu, choosing to play second in the individual match, unaware of the change in the Excellent Era.
Sun Xiang defeated Guo Yang, earning a point for Conquering Clouds. He Ming won the third individual match, scoring a point in the Excellent Era.
In the arena match, Sun Xiang's forfeit allowed Su Mucheng and Qiu Fei to win easily two points without Ye Qiu needing to play.
If Sun Xiang had defended, he might have defeated Su Mucheng and Qiu Fei, winning two points in the arena match.
But now, Excellent Era led Conquering Clouds 4-1.
However, Sun Xiang didn't know what happened in the Excellent Era. He didn't know Tao Xuan used dirty tactics to keep Ye Qiu out. It wasn't until the team match started that the referee saw Excellent Era, which had only five players and no substitutes.
Only then did everyone learn Ye Qiu was in the hospital with food poisoning, and Liu Hao looked unwell and played poorly because of food poisoning.
Fans felt sorry for Excellent Era, Ye Qiu, and even more for Liu Hao, who endured to win a point for Excellent Era.
(End of chapter)
The fiction is available till chapter 136 on my Patreon now! That is till where the fiction is updated by the author.
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